Razor blade and one-piece holder combination



Oct. 15, 1963 A, w. WHlTTON, JR 3,106,774

' RAZOR BLADE AND ONE-PIECE HOLDER COMBINATION Filed June 50. 1961QZZdea/b Z55 4] L/fiZMW/L,

vif as' United States Patent 3,106,774 RAZOR BLADE AND ONE-PIECE HOLDERCOMBINATION Algiean W. Wliitton, In, Glenview, llll., assignor toAmerican Hospital Supply Corporation, Evanston, 111., a

corporation of Illinois Filed June 30, 1961, Ser. No. 121,108 3 Claims.(CI. 30-32) This invention relates to a device for use in shaving and,more specifically, to a razor particularly adapted for use in shavingthe human body. A main object of the present invention is to provide aninexpensive razor which may be discarded after a single use and which istherefore particularly useful in hospitals and other institutions wherecleaning and sterilization are costly and bacterial cross-contaminationis an ever present hazard. More specifically, it is an object to providean inexpensive razor of one-piece plastic construction (exclusive of theblade) which is capable of being readily manufactured by an injectionmolding process. Another object is to provide a low-cost disposablerazor having a double-edge blade and having a shaving capacityconsiderably greater than the single edge blades of limited-use razorswhich are presently commercially available. A further object is toprovide a disposable razor comprising a one-piece plastic holder and adouble-edged blade carried thereby, the holder and blade being simple toassemble and cooperating when fully assembled to maintain the blade insecurely locked position.

Other objects will appear from the specification and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a razor embodying the presentinvention;

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the razor looking from the end of the handlethereof;

FIGURE 3 is a broken sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 44 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged partial section of the razor illustrating thesize relationship between the handle and the openings of blades ofdifferent curvature.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, therazor consists essentially of a razor blade generally designated by thenumeral 11 and a one-piece plastic blade holder generally designated bythe numeral 12. Except for the enlarged portion 13 of its opening 14,blade 11 is substantially identical to a conventional double-edged razorblade. Blade 11 is formed from highly tempered spring steel of the typecommonly used for thin double-edged razor blades and, as shown mostclearly in FIGURE 2, has end portions 15 substantially narrower than thewidth of the remainder of the blade.

Blade holder 12 comprises a handle 16 and a shaving head 17. The headand handle are integrally formed from a thermoplastic material such aspolystyrene, methyl methacrylate, cellulose acetate butyrate, etc. Asshown in FIGURE 3, handle 16 is hollow and the entire holder is shapedto permit forming in one piece by injection molding techniques. Theone-piece construction of the holder results in a low cost structurewhich makes disposal after a single use economically feasible and whicheliminates the costly cleaning and sterilizing procedures otherwisenecessary for hospital use.

Handle 16 has a generally cylindrical configuration. The base portion 18has a smooth outer surface whereas the remainder of the handle isprovided with longitudinally-extending and circumferentially-spaced ribs19.

Like the head of a conventional safety razor, head 17 is generallyrectangular in shape and of arcuate transverse section. The outersurface 20 of the head is convex while 3,106,774 Patented Oct. 15, 1963.

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the inner surface 21 is concave. Along each side of the head arelongitudinally-extending slits or openings 22 through which the groundlongitudinal edges of blade 11 project when the blade is fitted snuglyagainst the heads inner surface (FIGURE 3).

At each end of the head along the undersurface thereof are a pair ofspaced shoulders 23 having outwardly sloping blade-engaging surfaces 23amerging with substantially parallel and opposing blade-engaging surfaces23b (FIGURES l, 2 and 4). Since the spacing between surfaces 2312 foreach pair of shoulders is less than the width of the end portions 15 ofblade 11, the blade-engaging surfaces 231) cooperate with thelongitudinal edges of blade end portions 15 to produce and maintain theblade curvature illustrated most clearly in FIGURE 4. As a centrallyapertured blade 11, fitted over handle 16, is urged towards the headsconcave inner surface 21, contact between the blades end portions 15 andthe sloping surfaces 23a of the shoulders tends to cam the longitudinaledges of the end portions 15 inwardly towards each other and, in sodoing, imposes a transverse curvature upon the blade. Such a cooperativeaction between the blade and the shoulder surfaces 23a, and theresulting curvature of the blade, is indicated in FIGURE 4 by the brokenlines 11a showing a blade advancing in the direction of arrow 25.

Once the curved blade is fully seated against the concave surface 21,its natural springiness tends to resist the curvature imposed on it andforces the longitudinal edges of end portions 15 tightly against theshoulders to lock the blade firmly in place. Since surfaces 23b areparallel the side edges of blade end portions 15 will firmly engage orwedge against these shoulder surfaces and will not tend to slide freethereof when the blade is in fully inserted position. It is to be notedthat when the razor is in use, the forces normally imposed upon theblade during a shaving operation tend to urge the blade into astraightened or planar condition and, as a result, such forces increasethe locking action between the edges of the blades end portions and thesurfaces 23b of the shoulders.

It is believed from the foregoing that the structure of the presentinvention constitutes a simple and highly effective shaving device whichis relatively inexpensive because of the one-piece molded plasticconstruction of its holder. Preferably, blade 11 is fitted upon theholder by the manufacturer and the unit is packaged and marketed as acomplete razor suitable for disposal after one or more uses.

While in the foregoing I have disclosed an embodiment of the inventionin considerable detail for purposes of illustration, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that many of these details may bevaried without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A safety razor comprising a one-piece holder having an elongatedhandle and a head at one end of said handle, said head being generallyrectangular in shape and having a transverse concavity along thehandle-facing side thereof, a thin flexible razor blade of generallyrectangular shape being disposed along the concave side of said head,said head being provided along said concave side with at least one pairof spaced opposing surfaces engaging opposite longitudinal edge portionsof said blade, said blade normally being flat when in an untensionedstate and being held by said opposing surfaces in a flexed and tensionedcondition with a curvature conforming with the concavity of said head,whereby, said blade is firmly anchored in place by the tension thereofdirected against the spaced surfaces of said head.

2. A safety razor comprising a one-piece plastic holder having anelongated handle and a head at one end of said handle, said head beinggenerally rectangular in shape and having a transverse concavity alongthe handle-facing side thereof, a thin flexible razor blade of generallyrectangular shape being disposed along the concave side of said head,said head being provided along said concave side and adjacent oppositeends of said head with pairs of transversely-spaced shoulders providingopposing surfaces engaging opposite longitudinal edge portions of saidblade at each end thereof, said blade normally being fiat when in anuntensioned state and being held by the opposing surfaces of said pairsof shoulders in a flexed and tensioned condition with a blade curvatureconforming with the concavity of said head, whereby, said blade isfirmly locked in place by the tension thereof exerted against saidshoulder surfaces.

3. A safety razor comprising a one-piece plastic holder having anelongated handle and a head extending normal to said handle at one endthereof, said head being generally rectangular in shape and having atransverse concavity along the handle-facing side thereof, a thinflexible razor blade of generally rectangular shape being disposed alongthe concave side of said head and having an opening therethroughreceiving said handle, said head being provided along said concave sideand adjacent op- 4 posite ends of said head with pairs oftransversely-spaced shoulders, each pair of shoulders being providedwith opposing and generally parallel surfaces immediately adjacent theconcave surface of said head, said parallel surfaces engaging oppositelongitudinal edge portions of said blade at each end thereof, said pairsof shoulders also having inclined surfaces remote from the concavesurface of said head and diverging in the general direction of saidhandle, said blade normally being fiat when in an untensioned state andbeing held by said parallel surfaces in a flexed and tensioned conditionwith a curvature conforming with the concavity of said head, whereby,said blade is firmly locked in place by the tension thereof exertedagainst the parallel surfaces of said head.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,018,042 Thompson Oct. 22, 1935 2,353,599 Swann et al July 11, 19442,558,601 Winslow June 26, 1951 2,580,058 Willhelm Dec. 25, 19512,712,178 Marzio July 5, 1955

1. A SAFETY RAZOR COMPRISING A ONE-PIECE HOLDER HAVING AN ELONGATEDHANDLE AND A HEAD AT ONE END OF SAID HANDLE, SAID HEAD BEING GENERALLYRECTANGULAR IN SHAPE AND HAVING A TRANSVERSE CONCAVITY ALONG THEHANDLE-FACING SIDE THEREOF, A THIN FLEXIBLE RAZOR BLADE OF GENERALLYRECTANGULAR SHAPE BEING DISPOSED ALONG THE CONCAVE SIDE OF SAID HEAD,SAID HEAD BEING PROVIDED ALONG SAID CONCAVE SIDE WITH AT LEAST ONE PAIROF SPACED OPPOSING SURFACES ENGAGING OPPOSITE LONGITUDINAL EDGE PORTIONSOF SAID BLADE, SAID BLADE NORMALLY BEING FLAT WHEN IN AN UNTENSIONEDSTATE AND BEING HELD BY SAID OPPOSING SURFACES IN A FLEXED AND TENSIONEDCONDITION WITH A CURVATURE CONFORMING WITH THE CONCAVITY OF SAID HEAD,WHEREBY, SAID BLADE IS FIRMLY ANCHORED IN PLACE BY THE TENSION THEREOFDIRECTED AGAINST THE SPACED SURFACES OF SAID HEAD.